Milkha Singh, former Asian Games Gold medalist, dies of COVID-19, PM Modi expresses grief

Legendary athlete Milkha Singh died on Friday (June 19) at a hospital in Chandigarh. He was 91. The former Asian gold medalist was popularly known as 'Flying Singh'.

The 1958 Commonwealth Games champion and 1960 Rome Olympian had tested COVID-19 positive on May 20. Singh was discharged on May 30 but he was readmitted to the Covid ward at PGIMER on June 3 due to dipping oxygen levels. Earlier on Thursday, Milkha Singh had tested negative for Covid-19 and was shifted from the Covid ICU to the medical ICU at PGIMER.

Minutes after Milkha SIngh's demise, PM Narendra Modi and several others took to Twitter to express their grief over the passing away of the legendary athlete.

June 18, 2021

 June 18, 2021

June 18, 2021

 June 18, 2021

On June 13, Nirmal Milkha Singh, former Indian volleyball captain, and Milkha Singh's wife had also breathed her last after suffering from COVID-19 and battling the virus for more than 19 days at a Mohali hospital.